I know many of you rely on the opinion of yours truly here at the IFCA, and won’t commit to a game until you’ve read our review, so here goes!

It’s baaaack. The one game we all hate to love sometimes, and sometimes, love to hate. And that is the sort of relationship T10 has produced over the 10 year run on Forza. Basically a lot of home runs and touchdowns, followed up by drop balls and turnovers. Forza has been a long line of good, bad, and even ugly. I know, because unlike all the fan boy gamer reviews out there, I’ve been here since day 1 and Forza 1. I’ve tracked and played and even been paid to write for the Forza franchise over the years. As many here at the IFCA know, this makes what I say a good deal more important or weighty than virtually all the gaming website reviews combined. That said, most of the reviews have FM6 about right. This is a must have game. Thankfully we are on the upswing cycle where T10 has bounced back and hit this if not out of the park, rocked a solid triple.

Forza 6 is a statement game for T10. They had their hands tied behind their backs with Forza 5, and had to endure the ridicule and jabs of their fans and competitors as a result. They saw what was happening; they saw their competition amp up and steal some thunder with Project CARS, and apparently it does matter to them. Not because of you, the fans directly, but because they know they are the big dogs on the block, and as such, should dominate every category of console simulation racing. They have the most money, and the least excuse to produce a flop. In fact, their bar is set much higher than anyone’s. It is expected that with the backing of Microsoft, they will produce not just a great game, but also the revenue that goes with it.

Without a doubt T10 has gone back to its roots in its philosophical “opening statement” of the games intro. It is, and always has been, about racing. This sentiment was lost for a time in the haze of what T10 called, “car culture.” They forgot that it is racing that energizes and thrills millions of fans across the globe. The shot across the Forza boat from Slightly Mad Studios and Project CARS, was a wakeup call that T10 has correctly responded to with Forza 6, the most racing oriented version of the game to date.

With almost all of the better elements from previous versions wrapped up in one gigantic game with the most cars, and the most tracks it has ever known, is impressive by itself. But does it work? Indeed it does. Forza 6 is the best of its kind. A refined, sophisticated, deeper version of itself. Is it perfect? No, there are places to improve still, like in the areas where smaller companies have surpassed them. Things like slightly better physics, better sound, more tuning, more race options. But the truth is, FM6 in general does console simulation racing better than anyone on the track. There was a moment, a lapse, where they had to play second fiddle to Project CARS, but this was short lived.

Forza 6 is a polished product, with only minor criticisms. The career mode is better and more interesting. The physics are better and smoother than FM5’s. The emphasis on racing with official leagues and driver ratings, pumps life into what would be just another stagnant and unattended game eventually. The sound quality is good as always. The tuning options and game options are fully in place with rain and night tracks.

Forza 6 covers all the bases, and does it well for the most part. Even the most glaring flaws are little more than minor irritations. Text is too small. It lacks many base model cars like a standard Camaro, Mustang, or Challenger. Instead it has the pumped up maximum versions of these cars. There are no Porsches. It still doesn’t understand drag racing, and has no active tree or reaction times sadly. There’s no tuning in lobbies, and no rolling starts or pace cars, and a clumsy way to get to the designs your friends make without the use of a storefront module. It waste’s a lot of resources to try to govern hot lapping activity by categorizing everything rather than just a single option for any and all hot lapping. But other than these few personal gripes, this is as good as it gets on consoles for now.

Forza 6 has made a resounding statement and placed the competitors on notice. The competition has been lapped by FM6, and it looks like for now, it will be a long time before they get that lap back.